5 year old easter egger- fatty mass or water belly or?

[Kaesi2020]

Hi everyone- we have a 5 year old Easter egger hen who has a jiggly mass under her. It is impacting her walking although she eats regularly and has energy. My husband tried to insert a needle with syringe to drain fluid thinking it was water belly but blood started to come out so he stopped (18 Guage, inserted on lower right side of hen). The bleeding stopped but we had figured water would drain, not blood. Any idea what this could mean? I tried taking a few pics. She laid an egg last night if that matters. Now my husband thinks maybe she is just overweight? I don't know but I'm just worried.

 

[Lillith37]

I had a hen with a mass below her vent that wasn’t exactly a water belly situation, it was more a squishy lump that didn’t really cause her too many issues other than the fact that I had to trim her butt feathers cos it would get a bit messy. My hen passed away late last year and the vet did a necropsy and there wasn’t actually anything of note in that area (it was her kidney that was the problem).

Make sure you check her crop in the mornings to make sure it is emptying properly overnight and her digestion is working as it should.

Did you trim those feathers back or did she self-pluck? If the latter, check everyone over closely for mites and lice.

If she’s overweight you can tell by feeling along her keel bone. The bone should be easily palpable with well-formed convex breast muscles on either side. Feel some other birds of similar size if you have them for comparison.